A federal appeals court has upheld a ruling that temporarily prohibits US government agents from executing immigration-related arrests in Los Angeles without probable cause. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected the Trump administration’s request to pause this order, affirming that plaintiffs are likely to demonstrate that federal agents based arrests on individuals’ appearance, language, and residential or workplace locations.
In June 2023, President Donald Trump deployed National Guard troops and US Marines to Los Angeles in response to protests against immigration raids. This marked an unusual application of military forces to support civilian police operations within the United States.
The city of Los Angeles, along with several municipalities in Southern California, joined a lawsuit initiated by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in June, which accused federal agents of employing unlawful tactics, including racial profiling, to meet immigration arrest quotas established by the administration. Following this, a California judge issued a ruling in July that prohibited the Trump administration from using racial profiling in deportation efforts and affirmed immigrants’ rights to legal representation during detention.
In an unsigned decision released on Friday, the three-judge panel largely sided with the lower court’s ruling, which blocks federal officials from detaining individuals based solely on “apparent race or ethnicity,” the use of Spanish or accented English, or their presence in specific locations like “bus stops, car washes, tow yards, and day laborer pickup sites.”
The Department of Homeland Security and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not respond to requests for comment outside normal business hours.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass hailed the court’s decision as a significant win for the city. In a statement, she remarked, “The Temporary Restraining Order that has been protecting our communities from immigration agents using racial profiling and other illegal tactics when conducting their cruel and aggressive enforcement raids and sweeps will remain in place for now.”
The ACLU’s senior staff lawyer, Mohammad Tajsar, also expressed approval of the ruling, stating, “This decision is further confirmation that the administration’s paramilitary invasion of Los Angeles violated the Constitution and caused irreparable injury across the region.”
The implications of this ruling are significant for immigration policies and law enforcement tactics within Los Angeles and potentially across the United States, as it highlights ongoing tensions between federal immigration enforcement and community protections against unlawful practices.
